E NEMIES AND ALLIES
The Golgari Swarm shares a general philosophical
approach with the other nature-oriented guilds-Simic,
Gruul, and Selesnya- in its concern for the forces of life
and growth. Under the right circumstances, a member
of the Golgari can work well with agents of those organi-
zations. But the Golgari's emphasis on death as part of
the life cycle is foreign to those other guilds.
The Golgari prefer to erode their enemies' strength
through a process of attrition rather than by launching
frontal attacks. 1 f you are called on to take direct action
against another guild, it is probably a matter of self-pres-
ervation against a guild that is threatening the life and
livelihood of the Golgari. You might oppose the Azorius
as they attempt to extend their jurisdiction into the
undercity or strike back at the Boros to dissuade them
from launching more attacks into Golgari territory. Oc-
casionally, you might be assigned to assault the enemies
of the Golgari more directly, especially if you are a mem-
ber of the Och ran. If the death of a particular person or
the theft of a key treasure will contribute to the decline
and downfall of an enemy guild, even the typically pa-
tient Golgari will try to seize that opportunity.
You might ally with members of another guild if
they are working- even unwittingly-toward goals you
share. The Gruul, for example, are adept at hastening
the decay of both humanoid populations and physical
structures, even if they remain unaware of their full role
in the natural cycle. If some event threatens to upset the
balance of nature, such as a necromantic blight that kills
all growth or a magical wildfire rampaging through the
city, you might join other nature-oriented guilds in an
attempt to c urtail it and preserve the balance.
To the Golgari, the other guilds of Ravnica are shortsighted
and inevitably doomed to collapse.
Azorius. "Such hubris! As if all their laws could shore up
this crumbling society. Their regulations and institutions
are just detritus in the making."
Boros. "The Boros speak a language we will never un-
derstand. Their militant dedication to empty concepts
like 'justice' and 'righteousness' is both confusing and
disturbing."
Oimir. "They collect information like trinkets, so how can
they ever grasp the deeper truths we possess? But their
presence in the undercity is an all-too-real threat to our
dominion beneath the streets."
Gruul. "The clans serve as effective instruments of the
natural cycle, though in their anger, they are blind to the
extent of the role they play."
lzzet. "Perplexing. They are attracted to whatever flashes
brightest and booms loudest. Their fascination with their
toys will only hasten their own end."
Orzhov. "They flout the natural order and use their
knowledge of death to resist its pull. While their bodies
rot, their spirits persist, clinging to the fiction of mate-
rial wealth."
Rakdos. "They understand the inevitability of death but
seek to hasten its arrival for their petty ends. What the
demon destroys, we nurse back to life again."
Selesnya. "Their reverence for nature is the mark ofim-
maturity and naivete. They fear death, so they can't
understand life. They can be dangerous when they
fervently cling to their narrow-minded and inadequate
view of life."
Simic. "They seek patterns in the natural world, which is
commendable enough, but they believe the search will
lead them to find perfection through all of its flaws. They
strive to move forward but fail to see that the path they
tread is cyclical.''r.l(,\l"f[R 2 GUILDS OF RA\':-ilCA 'i7